Downsizing Your Home for Retirement: 6 Tips for Older Adults

For a comfortable retirement, you need a large amount of money saved. One of the most common ways older adults increase their savings is by downsizing their homes. Selling your home will most likely result in cash windfall, and a smaller home means lower monthly expenses. In addition, you’ll spend less on utility bills, renovations, and maintenance. If you haven’t paid off your current mortgage, a new home with a lower mortgage will free up space from your budget. All of these savings will add a large chunk to your retirement fund. 

If you’re nearing retirement and have concluded that downsizing is a great move for you, you want to do it right. You want to avoid many mistakes, such as accepting a low-ball offer for your home, keeping a piece of furniture that is too big, or not considering if you can age in place.

For people who already have a small house and can’t consider moving to a smaller one, doing essential updates for your old home and renting it out might be more advisable. Otherwise, we’ve listed our recommended practices for downsizing your home.

Take note of all the expenses

The point of downsizing is to save you money, but it doesn’t mean you won’t spend anything. There are a lot of fees you have to keep in mind if you want your downsizing to be smooth-sailing. 

• Moving to a new neighborhood means owing monthly home association fees. The more services and amenities the community offers, the higher the cost will be. 

• Preparing your house for the market means expenses, too. Repainting walls, installing new flooring, and other improvements mean you have to dish out some money.

• Keep in mind that home insurance won’t necessarily decrease if you move to a smaller home. The proximity of your new home to hazards can even make insurance premiums larger than before.

• Yes, you can sell your house without a realtor, but why would you? Hiring a real estate agent will take a lot of work off your hands and will speed up the process. Of course, real estate agents take commissions, and it’s an expense you have to take note of.

There are other expenses associated with downsizing. How much you will spend will vary from case to case. What’s important to remember is that keeping track of your expenses is the first step to spending money wisely. 

Decide on the retirement lifestyle you want

A lot about downsizing will depend on what kind of retirement you want to have. The financial goal you have to set for yourself should be in accordance with the costs of your retirement lifestyle. Having these well thought out before making any moves will allow you to understand better how you can achieve the retirement you want. 

Be realistic

Selling the home you’ve lived in for most of your life, along with all the other possessions, is not easy but might be necessary for your retirement goal. You might feel like putting a hefty price tag on your house because of the sentimental value you’ve given it, but that would only make it hard for you to sell it. This is where real estate agents come in. They will provide you with honest answers regarding your house’s value.

Donate or sell unnecessary items

You probably have plenty of items in your current house that you just left gathering dust in your basement. While you might not want to let go of them due to sentimental value, selling them off or donating them will free up space and make moving a lot easier. If you have stuff that are still in good condition, you can open a garage sale or list them in Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist to get rid of them and turn a profit. You can also just donate them to charities which will make sure someone will benefit from them.

Manage your emotions

Downsizing isn’t just a financial challenge — it can also stir up negative emotions such as sadness, anxiety, and grief. The thought of letting go of your home where you made a lot of special memories and going through all the objects that will remind you of them are likely to put you in a hurricane of emotions.

If you find yourself going through emotional turmoil while downsizing, it’s advisable to talk to your friends or relatives that you trust. They can help you go through these emotions and put you in a better state. If, by any chance, you don’t have anyone to speak to, consider getting professional help. You don’t need to be mentally ill to seek therapy.  

Plan for a new routine

Moving to a smaller home might mean having an entirely new routine, especially if you’re moving far from your previous neighborhood. Before moving, plan a new routine by researching cafes you can go to, clubs you can join, or other activities you can get involved in within your soon-to-be neighborhood. Having a new routine planned will save you time trying to adapt to your new community. 

Downsizing is a big retirement move that many people would have to consider when the time comes. It isn’t an easy task, and it requires a lot of planning. If you’re downsizing, give time to think about it thoroughly so you can spot anything that might become a problem. Consider all the expenses, decide on a retirement lifestyle, be realistic, sell unwanted items, manage your emotions, and prepare for a new routine. These aren’t the end-all and be-all of downsizing tips, but they will go a long way in making the move successful. 

Tips for Better Hobby Organization and Storage

Gorgeous minimalistic craft room

In a world of full-blown technology addiction and lives structured around work rather than play, few things can be more fulfilling than a little hands-on crafting or a trip to nature. But any passionate crafter and hobbyist will tell you a hobby is far more than just a simple pastime. No matter what form it takes, hobbies can nurture our creative side, feed our soul, bring mindfulness into our lives, boost our overall health, and help us grow as a person. So, it's not hard to see why we deem our little craft nook or room a sacred place. That said, there's probably nothing that can crush creativity, motivation, and exhilaration quite as much as clutter and chaos in our personal sanctuary. If keeping your space neat is a bit of a problem area for you, like for many crafters, we give you some valuable tips for better hobby organization and storage.

Go back to square one

Do you wish to be completely thorough in organizing your hobby room? If yes, then clearing the space and starting from there may be the best approach. And by this, we don't mean just getting rid of your old materials, patterns you don't intend to complete, and leftover bits of projects. We're talking blank canvases, bare bones, and that sort of thing. Completely emptying the space allows you to look at the area through a fresh pair of eyes, which is vital for the following step.

Get building

Now that you've got everything out of the space, it's time to start planning the area and get building. If you're short on space, perhaps the most practical solution for better hobby organization and storage is to choose an empty wall to dedicate to shelving units. Shelves and cubbies can be customized according to your needs and the area's available space. It should give you plenty of space to store your tools, supplies, and other equipment in one place but also free up some floor space and the rest of the room for your actual work. 

You can also opt for some hook and panel wall storage for holding all kinds of smaller items. For example, if you're designing a home gym, these work wonderfully for hanging jump ropes or resistance bands. Or, if you're setting up a sewing room, you can hang your pattern collection for display.

Other than wall storage, we've seen lots of crafters resort to a customized table or desk. The top serves as their primary workspace, whereas built-in storage drawers add the convenience of setting up the supplies right under the work surface, thus providing easy access to the most-used items.

Organize tools by craft

How do you categorize your tools and supplies when everything is crammed into random boxes or cluttering your work surface? Although a quick Google search will uncover a sea of organizing methods touted by expert crafters, organizing by craft, such as scrapbooking, painting, sewing, knitting, etc., is probably the most prevalent one. This allows crafters to whip out whatever they might need in one fell swoop. But, in the end, there is no one right way to do this. Perhaps the best thing you can do for yourself is store things in categories that make sense to you. Of course, you can always tweak your system later. So, if you want to do some experimenting with the categories, go for it.

Find everything a home

After you've gathered your tools and supplies and organized them by category, it's time to move on to the next step. Assigning a designated spot for everything may be one of the most important guidelines for effective hobby organization and storage. 

While sorting the items for your current crafts, odds are your subcategories emerged as well. Now you know what you want to store. So, let this guide you as you head out to the local shop to purchase some storage solutions like Tupperware, baskets, and clear bins, as well as some organizers. 

Then, start sorting the contents of each category into those smaller categories, placing your items into storage containers. For instance, if you're sorting out your knitting supplies, you would have categories like these: needles, yarn, patterns, notions, works in progress. Also, suppose you need to store and keep your camping equipment safe. Make sure to purchase bins in different sizes because you'll need bigger totes for things such as tents, chairs, hammocks, and other large camping gear. In contrast, you'd need smaller totes for items like water filters, first aid kits, and hammocks.

Don’t save things “just in case”

At this point, it's essential to include a little decluttering session. While in the sorting stage, keep a lookout for anything that no longer tickles your fancy. This could consist of supplies for the crafts or a craft you no longer do. Got it? Now kiss it goodbye. Throw it away, give it away, or sell it. Sure, it might feel painful at first, but once you've pared down to the essentials, you'll feel light as a feather – and your craft room organization will too.

Emphasize functionality and accessibility

You probably won't use your hobby area only for storing your supplies and equipment but for actual work. So, think about how your ideal space would look like, not only in terms of aesthetics but functionality as well. Consider what you might need to include in it to make it work for you. Here are some ideas:

• Establish your central command area. A good rule is to establish an area where you get your crafting done. Doing so will help you avoid spreading your projects and supplies all over the house. A simple desk or table will work well.

• Store frequently-used items in plain sight. Keep the containers and baskets of your frequently-used items close to your workspace and in plain sight. There are few things more frustrating than having to stop in the middle of your crafting process to look for that ever-elusive pair of scissors.

• Use bins without lids. This way, you won’t find yourself stacking items on top of bins instead of opening them and putting items away. This is, of course, unless you plan on stacking bins on top of one another, which is necessary sometimes.

• Think about portability. Creating kits of supplies for specific projects will make it easy for you to move from room to room, from inside to your backyard, as well as to leave the house for group projects and clubs.

• Label everything. Labeling is a huge game-changer when it comes to organizing your hobby room or storage successfully. It makes both finding items and putting them away easy. 

• Leave extra space. Inevitably, craft supplies of any serious crafter grow exponentially over time. Regardless of how much of a minimalist you strive to be, it’s going to happen. So, do yourself a solid and remember to leave some extra space for those supplies heading your way.

Establish some ground rules for neatness

Congrats! You've successfully conquered the craft catastrophe that once was. From now on, you just have to make sure to keep it that way for more than a few hours. This may not be so easy, given you're using the space regularly, but it is crucial for better hobby organization and storage that remains in top shape. For starters, try setting a daily 5-minute tidy timer. The reason this method is so effective is that five minutes isn't at all long – so you'll stay motivated. Still, it's long enough for you to make a significant difference in your hobby room before the time is up. However, it's hardly a cure-all. So, you will need a better plan. True craft addicts might consider scheduling a deep-clean day once a week, whereas those who are only popping in the room once or twice a month could schedule it once a month.

How to Clean and Organize Your Home

Keeping your house clean and tidy can be overwhelming and challenging at times. That is why taking things step by step can help you maintain your house and keep it organized. These are some tips and tricks that will help you out. 

Start by Making the Bed

The simplest way to get into the cleaning zone is to start by doing an easy task first. Once you wake up, try to turn making your bed into a number one priority. Firstly, this will get you to get out of bed and start the day productively from the moment you wake up. Also, it will motivate you to keep going. 

To make this task as easy as possible, try to simplify your bedding. For instance you can cut out the top sheets and just use a duvet and a cover. If that’s the part you’re not willing to cut off, then you can try minimizing the number of pillows on your bed. Having to move around way too many pillows will end up turning your task of making the bed into a complete nightmare. 

Declutter

The next thing you can do is to declutter your house. Keeping things tidy and organized is also about being smart about how you use the storage space around you. You can start by putting away the things that are in the way. Take care of the trash lying around and the move on to the things that are misplaced and things that weren’t put back into the place they belong. 

Another great trick for decluttering is to go through you wardrobe and get rid of the clothes you are no longer wearing. You can donate the clothes to charity or gift it to someone who wants them. This is a great way to make some room for new clothes and make your wardrobe look more organized. 

Do One Load of Laundry per Day

We all know how fast the laundry can pile up and then you end up having to take a whole day off just to wash all of the clothes. On top of that, if you have kids, it takes even less time for the laundry to pile up.

So, to avoid ending stuck in a mess and a pile full of clothes in the bathroom, you can do one load of laundry per day. Try to take it step by step. One day you can wash the underwear. Then on the second day, you can take care of the black clothes. After that, you can wash the colored clothes and then lastly you can take care of the bedding. This is just one example of how you can spread this task into multiple smaller tasks. 

Do a 15 Minute Nightly Clean-up

Try to develop a new habit of doing a quick 15-minute clean-up every night. You can get the whole family to help you out. Once you start doing these quick clean-ups, you’ll realize that it’s not so much of a tough job after all. 

The goal is to stick to some of the top priority cleaning tasks. Don’t overdo it. Just take 15 minutes to do some light cleaning. For example, the kids can declutter their toys in the rooms. You can wash the dishes and put away the trash, and your partner can put away the laundry that was washed that day. This way, you are ensuring that the house is clean at all times and you don’t end up with a pile of dirt, mess, clothes and dishes lying around at the end of each week. 

Keep your Basic Cleaning Supplies Close to Where You Use Them

This trick can save you a lot of time and it is especially useful for the above mentioned 15-minute nightly clean-ups. If you want to efficiently and quickly finish a cleaning task, try keeping some of the basic cleaning supplies where you can easily access them. This means keeping the supplies next to the space you are going to use them in. So for example, the cleaning supplies for the bathroom can go to a small drawer in the bathroom. The kitchen cleaning supplies can be under the kitchen sink. 

Deep Clean your Carpets

Maintaining the carpets in the house is not an easy job. However, every once in a while you have to make yourself get over with this task. Carpets can soak up a lot of dirt, fine dust, and even germs that you can transfer with your shoes. On top of that, the kids can also spill food and crumbs all over the floor that you don’t even notice if it gets stuck in the carpet. So, deep cleaning the carpet at least once in a couple of months can be useful. You can also look for professional house cleaning services to help you with more complex tasks. They can always help you get the job done efficiently and professionally. Soon, you’ll see how a cleaned carpet can change the appearance of the entire room. 

Clean as You Go

Lastly, this one goes without saying but it can help a lot of people who struggle with staying organized clean their home. When you are cleaning the house, try to clean as you go. For example, you can start from the bedroom and then once you are completely finished with that room move on to your kids’ bedroom, then living room, then kitchen, and so on. Start in one direction and do things in that order. You will be less likely to forget something and get distracted by other cleaning tasks. This is a habit that can be developed and practiced over time. 

Conclusion

In conclusion, if you want to keep your house clean at all times, separate bigger tasks into smaller ones, follow an order, do little by little every day, start with easier tasks, and keep the supplies in the place where they are easily accessed for when you need them. 

How often should you clean your home junk

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Everyone should want to live clutter-free and have a neat home. But how often should you clean your home junk and how to do it? If you are unsure about the answers but are slowly reaching the point where your place looks cluttered and messy, continue reading this article. We've prepared solutions that will help you keep your junk-free.

Why should you clean your home junk?

Do you feel overwhelmed and even anxious when you think of decluttering? It's because you're unaware of how beneficial freeing yourself from clutter can be not just for the sake of the aesthetic of your home but for your wellbeing.

Here are just some of the benefits of decluttering:

• You will feel less stressed

• At any point, you will know where each of your things is

• You'll spend less time cleaning

• Ultimately, you'll feel happier and more relaxed

How to declutter?

Decluttering is a task many people dread. They sometimes procrastinate until they have no more free storage space and their home looking messy. However, it's not that difficult. In fact, there are ways to declutter your entire home in a day.l . Additionally, services such as a professional rubbish removalist company can simplify this process greatly.

Whether you're decluttering before a move or simply because your home is becoming too messy, the best way to go is to create piles and start sorting your things:

• Keep - You should only keep things you know you'll use, and you really need. Of course, there will always be some sentimental items but try not to exaggerate.

• Toss and recycle – When decluttering, make sure to get rid of all the items you don't use and that can't be used by anyone else. Don't forget to recycle, too, and sort them as paper, glass, and plastic. 

• Donate - You'll surely find things you don't want to use anymore but are still in good condition. The best thing is to donate them or give them to a friend who might need them.

• Put in storage - If you have things you don't have room for or simply don't want around your house, consider renting a storage unit and putting them away. 

How frequently should you get rid of home junk?

Decluttering is not a one-off process. Even after you've thoroughly cleaned your place and gotten rid of your excess things, eventually, clutter will accumulate again. So how often should you clean your home junk to keep it tidy?

The answer to this question is not as simple as you might think. Different people accumulate junk and clutter at different rates and get different answers to this question.

In order to find our answer, you first need to consider several things and answer three other questions.

How many people live in your home?

The calculation is simple - the more people live in a home, the higher the rate of clutter accumulation. More people are buying and bringing stuff home, which means junk will accumulate more quickly.

Therefore, if more people live in your home, you should declutter more often. The good idea is to talk to your household members about the importance of decluttering and create your decluttering routine together.

How often do you shop?

If you enjoy shopping and love buying things you don't necessarily need, you will need to declutter more often. If your other household members have the same habit, the clutter will only accumulate more.

To make your home feel neat and tidy, ensure you frequently declutter. Many people agree that, in these cases, decluttering your things once every 3-6 months is enough.

Do you have growing kids?

Kids quickly outgrow clothes and toys. Therefore, if you have growing kids, you can expect to declutter very often. Otherwise, these things will most likely end up in piled-up boxes in their rooms.

Therefore, declutter at least once a year until they reach the age when they're not growing at such a fast rate. Also, decluttering kids' things is an excellent way to teach them about values. For example, you can have them donate their old stuff to less fortunate kids.

Spaces you should declutter every week

Even if you try your best to keep your home neat at all times, there are certain rooms in your home where junk tends to accumulate faster. Therefore, you should make sure to declutter these areas at least once a week. That way, you will be sure your home is always junk-free.

Kitchen

If junk accumulates in the kitchen, it could be a potential source of disease. Therefore, make sure to check it once a week. You should look at your kitchen cabinets and make sure there are no items, especially condiments, that have expired. If you find any, throw them away.

The most important part of the kitchen you should check is your refrigerator. Make sure to throw out any food that has expired. Also, if there are any half-opened cans you used a couple of days ago or leftovers older than three days, get rid of them too.

Bathroom

The bathroom is one of the rooms you should declutter regularly. Even if you have a lot of extra storage in the bathroom, clutter tends to accumulate on counters and in cabinets. Therefore, once a week, make sure to put away any little bits of bathroom clutter as it can make it look messy.

Also, make sure to check for any empty shampoo or shower gel bottles and look at products you haven't used for some time. Most importantly, check your medicine cabinet. If anything has expired, make sure to get rid of it.

Coffee table

Another place in your home where junk tends to collect is your coffee table. Have you ever got distracted and left your mail on it only to remember five days after to take a look at it? What about those four-month-old newspapers and magazines?

As your coffee table can easily become a dumping ground, make sure to declutter it once a week.

Roll up your sleeves and clean your home junk

Now that you know how many benefits clutter-free home gives you and how often you should declutter, roll up your sleeves and clean your home junk. You will instantly feel better.